Ok before I start I just want to say that it's very minor, but I still think it's worth spending 5 minutes fixing if you guys agree with me.

Recently links to facebook, twitter and email have been added. This is fine, but I'm not a big fan of how it's displayed. Here's why:

Maybe I'm just easily annoyed and no one care about this, but I feel like sharing links shouldn't be on the same level as a title. It makes the "your answer" text a bit more hidden and clutters this whole area. Also it's set as an h2 which is not very semantic.

I don't have anything against having them more present, I just don't like that a sharing link and a title have the exact same styling. Getting more people to answer is great, but it shouldn't harm UX
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marcggJan 7 '11 at 11:54

@marcgg mmm, well, IMHO they are on the same level -- either you have an answer or you know someone who can answer. Equivalent actions that both lead to getting an answer.
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Jeff Atwood♦Jan 7 '11 at 11:55

6

Jeff, while I agree with you point I also think that the styling of the sharing link is wrong. I also think that @marcgg's mockup looks better.
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ChrisFJan 7 '11 at 11:57

1

@jeff I guess that makes sense even if I don't really agree with this. My opinion would be that actually giving the answer has a greater value than just sending it to someone that might answer.
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marcggJan 7 '11 at 11:58

14

When you put an entire sentence in bold it looks like you're shouting. But, then again, maybe you are since it's only on 0-answer questions. Why not use the standard share this content buttons from each of the providers? I typically look for these, not text when I want to share something.
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tvanfossonJan 7 '11 at 12:01

6

I'm not entirely sure about putting icons, but I do agree that putting the entire sentence in bold feels a bit weird.
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marcggJan 7 '11 at 12:08

I'm curious how you determine if people saw them? I admit I've learned to ignore links like that since they've been plastered on every site on existence. They're almost spam. But the two times a year I want to share something, I also don't need links to do it. I already know where facebook and twitter are, and I can compose an email myself.
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Brad MaceJan 17 '11 at 13:32

IMO it could be an addthis icon under the post vote up/down. I don't click down there because they are links and not icons and are too far from the question.
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BrunoLMJan 21 '11 at 15:25

I will admit that I never noticed the links until they became more prominent. But I do agree with @marcgg that they are a bit "in your face" and do--albeit in a minor way--detract from usability in that they add clutter to the area of the page where I want to get work done, namely, post an answer.

I'm not sure if this "share question" message is security/reputation/time trimmed, but if not, my suggestion would be to increase the prominence of the message based on:

Time the question has spent with zero answers.

Reputation of the current user.

Anonymous/Authenticated status of the current user.

Ultimately a minor point, but IMHO it detracts from an otherwise excellent user experience.